Nissan to launch plug-in hybrid & develop fuel cells with Mercedes

Nissan are to launch a plug-in hybrid in 2015 and are working with Mercedes Benz to develop fuel cell technology.

We have been a bit scathing about electric cars, and Nissan’s over-priced LEAF being proclaimed as a viable alternative to the ICE car.

But we certainly understand the imperative for car makers to build cars which produce less CO2 (a highly dubious requirement) and use far less fuel (a very solid requirement).

Sensibly, Nissan Renault, under Carlos Ghosn, aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket in the quest to make their cars cleaner, greener and more economical. They actually have concrete plans to go far beyond pure electric cars.

The most promising routes for cars to go are the range extender, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell. And Nissan are working on at least two of the three as they aim to be the world’s leading green car company.

Carlos Ghosn has revealed that Nissan are planning a plug-in hybrid, which will launch by 2015 as part of a £2.5 billion investment over the next five years in ‘Green’ cars.

Ghosn reckons that it will have sold 1.7 million BEVs by the end of that five year period (perhaps not many of those in the UK) and that it will have improved its overall average economy across its cars by 35 per cent in the same period.

Nissan Renault are also working with Mercedes Benz on fuel cell technology (which is the long term future – hybrids and BEVs are very much short-term) to make sure they cover all the bases. And with the joint R & D budgets of Nissan, Renault and Mercedes working on the technology, the alliance will be the biggest push in the direction of fuel cells currently in place.

Which all makes far more sense that putting all Nissan’s eggs in the battery electric car basket.